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2012
Concorde Fire Challenge - Girls
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
2/18/2012 - 2/19/2012
Concorde Fire Challenge - Girls! This tournament is for teams looking a great weekend filled with some highly competitive matches! To view more information about the tournament and to register, please visit the tournament website by clicking here.
Coerver Cup 5v5 Thanksgiving Challenge - Flagler, FL
Flagler County Recreational Complex, Flagler Beach, FL
Saturday, November 26th. One day event! Register by 22nd November
Click here to register
Welcome to the Coerver Cup 5v5 Challenge - Flagler beach, FL! This tournament is for teams looking a great weekend filled with some highly competetive matches! To view more information about the tournament and to register, please visit the tournament website Click here to register
Don't miss this Tournament . . . apply now if you haven't already done so!
The Father Christmas Cup is an Event that exemplifies the power and unity of the Atlanta Soccer Community. The Atlanta Soccer News is dedicated to this community and urge all those in our community to support this great cause. Please let us know if you can help.
The Father Christmas Cup is held each year around Christmas time to help local families who have lost a parent this year. The event is based around an annual soccer tournament consisting of local soccer players, many of whom have ties to the beneficiary families. The Father Christmas Cup originated from the ideas of the 1914 WWI Christmas truce where German and English soldiers stopped fighting and played a soccer match in the middle of no-man's land. The Father Christmas Cup uses as its fundamental basis this powerful depiction of hope for peace and civility and regard for one's fellow man.
History and Origin of The Father Christmas Cup
The Father Christmas Cup came to be as a result of a discussion one night in September 2003 between a group of friends in a local pub, what was then the old Fado Fado, in the Buckhead bar district of Atlanta Georgia.
The discussion centered on the casualties from the war in Iraq and how that Christmas a family would be in mourning for a father missing for the first time during the Holiday season.
One of the group recalled how soccer and war had been intertwined throughout the ages and we all remembered how during World War I it was often cited that on Christmas Eve in 1915 a truce was struck between the Germans and the English to celebrate Christmas. The truce lasted Christmas Day and part of the following day- Boxing Day- and how an impromptu soccer game ensued in no-man’s land between the trenches.
The idea came about to hold a soccer match as a fundraiser to help a family that was missing their father for the first time. The first Father Christmas Cup has played in December 2003 and funds raised were donated anonymously to a soldier’s family.
After the success of the first fundraiser, many who supported the effort felt that it would help increase donations if we named the family who would benefit from the fundraiser. It was agreed that by doing so, friends and family of the beneficiary’s family would then be able to participate in celebrating the day, remembering the person whose family we were helping. And so, in 2004 we remembered a local military serviceman who passed away and leaving behind a wife, a son and a daughter.
In 2005, we lost one of our own close friends who was killed in a tragic accident. He was a popular and prominent figure in the adult soccer league in Gwinnett County and many who had played with him over the years wanted to raise money to help fund his daughter’s college fund. Because so many people knew him personally there was a huge outpouring of support for this event and four teams competed for The Father Christmas Cup trophy at Bethesda Park, including his old team mates from Pipers and Celtics. The Father Christmas Cup really took off that year as the word spread throughout the Atlanta soccer community the unique nature of the benefit.
Unfortunately in 2006, we lost another local soccer player. He was playing soccer at Silverbacks Park with his Vintage Genesis teammates when he collapsed and was unable to recover. He left behind a wife and two sons. Four teams, Vintage Genesis, Pipers Silverbacks, and Atlanta Olde Stars North and Atlanta Olde Stars South competed for the Father Christmas Cup and the Atlanta Silverbacks organization graciously donated the use of the fields for the fundraiser and have continued to support it ever since.
In 2007 we remembered another member of the local soccer community, who left behind a wife, son and a daughter. His involvement in soccer in the Atlanta area ranges from his role as a key organizer in the early days of the Soccer Alley league (Buckhead), to volunteer coaching clinics in Roswell, to playing in several leagues, including Soccer Alley, Buckhead (Carl Sanders) YMCA, ADASL, CARSL and last, but not least, the Roswell Soccer Club Adult League. Again four teams participated with many of his former team mates coming out of retirement to play. Because of his involvement in the soccer community, the Father Christmas Cup took a huge step in its growth as new people volunteered to support the running of the event.
In 2008 we lost another close friend, a long-time recreational coach at Metro-North Park and father of three NASA/MNYSA players—a daughter and two sons. Coaching from Mighty Mites through U-12, he was a familiar figure at Metro North, always ready to laugh or lend a helping hand. An avid supporter of the NASA TOP Soccer program, he was a strong presence in the goal for their Sunday afternoon games. We also remembered two other local players. One played recreational soccer and coached many teams in Roswell. He won a state championship with his U-10 Boys Team during his first year with Roswell and coached several girls’ teams from U-12 to U-19 age groups. The other played soccer with Majestic's and was known for his big smile and love of the game.
What became apparent in 2009 was that as the reach of the Cup gets wider each year there is, it seems, more than just one family in need. The biggest challenge for the organizers has become the decision to determine which family to support, as, in the past, it was impractical to share funds between multiple families. The solution was to register the Father Christmas Cup, Inc with the State of Georgia as a Domestic Non-Profit Corporation and register as a Charitable Organization. As a result future funds collected can be divided between selected families in need each year. Another major benefit is that sponsors can now support the charity and deduct any contribution it may make.
The success of The Father Christmas Cup has been accomplished only because of the grass root support and overwhelming generosity of the Atlanta soccer community.
Find out about this year's Father Christmas Cup event
Please consider making a Donation
For Corporate Sponsorship opportunities please contact us.
For Team Registration please contact us.
For Media Inquiries, please contact us.
If you have any questions or you would like to volunteer, please contact us.
History and Origin of The Father Christmas Cup
The Father Christmas Cup came to be as a result of a discussion one night in September 2003 between a group of friends in a local pub, what was then the old Fado Fado, in the Buckhead bar district of Atlanta Georgia.
The discussion centered on the casualties from the war in Iraq and how that Christmas a family would be in mourning for a father missing for the first time during the Holiday season.
One of the group recalled how soccer and war had been intertwined throughout the ages and we all remembered how during World War I it was often cited that on Christmas Eve in 1915 a truce was struck between the Germans and the English to celebrate Christmas. The truce lasted Christmas Day and part of the following day- Boxing Day- and how an impromptu soccer game ensued in no-man’s land between the trenches.
The idea came about to hold a soccer match as a fundraiser to help a family that was missing their father for the first time. The first Father Christmas Cup has played in December 2003 and funds raised were donated anonymously to a soldier’s family.
After the success of the first fundraiser, many who supported the effort felt that it would help increase donations if we named the family who would benefit from the fundraiser. It was agreed that by doing so, friends and family of the beneficiary’s family would then be able to participate in celebrating the day, remembering the person whose family we were helping. And so, in 2004 we remembered a local military serviceman who passed away and leaving behind a wife, a son and a daughter.
In 2005, we lost one of our own close friends who was killed in a tragic accident. He was a popular and prominent figure in the adult soccer league in Gwinnett County and many who had played with him over the years wanted to raise money to help fund his daughter’s college fund. Because so many people knew him personally there was a huge outpouring of support for this event and four teams competed for The Father Christmas Cup trophy at Bethesda Park, including his old team mates from Pipers and Celtics. The Father Christmas Cup really took off that year as the word spread throughout the Atlanta soccer community the unique nature of the benefit.
Unfortunately in 2006, we lost another local soccer player. He was playing soccer at Silverbacks Park with his Vintage Genesis teammates when he collapsed and was unable to recover. He left behind a wife and two sons. Four teams, Vintage Genesis, Pipers Silverbacks, and Atlanta Olde Stars North and Atlanta Olde Stars South competed for the Father Christmas Cup and the Atlanta Silverbacks organization graciously donated the use of the fields for the fundraiser and have continued to support it ever since.
In 2007 we remembered another member of the local soccer community, who left behind a wife, son and a daughter. His involvement in soccer in the Atlanta area ranges from his role as a key organizer in the early days of the Soccer Alley league (Buckhead), to volunteer coaching clinics in Roswell, to playing in several leagues, including Soccer Alley, Buckhead (Carl Sanders) YMCA, ADASL, CARSL and last, but not least, the Roswell Soccer Club Adult League. Again four teams participated with many of his former team mates coming out of retirement to play. Because of his involvement in the soccer community, the Father Christmas Cup took a huge step in its growth as new people volunteered to support the running of the event.
In 2008 we lost another close friend, a long-time recreational coach at Metro-North Park and father of three NASA/MNYSA players—a daughter and two sons. Coaching from Mighty Mites through U-12, he was a familiar figure at Metro North, always ready to laugh or lend a helping hand. An avid supporter of the NASA TOP Soccer program, he was a strong presence in the goal for their Sunday afternoon games. We also remembered two other local players. One played recreational soccer and coached many teams in Roswell. He won a state championship with his U-10 Boys Team during his first year with Roswell and coached several girls’ teams from U-12 to U-19 age groups. The other played soccer with Majestic's and was known for his big smile and love of the game.
What became apparent in 2009 was that as the reach of the Cup gets wider each year there is, it seems, more than just one family in need. The biggest challenge for the organizers has become the decision to determine which family to support, as, in the past, it was impractical to share funds between multiple families. The solution was to register the Father Christmas Cup, Inc with the State of Georgia as a Domestic Non-Profit Corporation and register as a Charitable Organization. As a result future funds collected can be divided between selected families in need each year. Another major benefit is that sponsors can now support the charity and deduct any contribution it may make.
The success of The Father Christmas Cup has been accomplished only because of the grass root support and overwhelming generosity of the Atlanta soccer community.
Find out about this year's Father Christmas Cup event
Please consider making a Donation
For Corporate Sponsorship opportunities please info@atlantasoccernews.com
If you have any questions or you would like to volunteer, please contact us.
By Sonia Oxley
A steely determination and a good wife are behind Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson’s biggest achievement of staying in the job for 25 years, according to his son Darren, who thinks his father will continue for three more years at least.
The Scot has guided the club to 12 English league titles, two European Cups and five FA Cups among others in a quarter of a century, which he marks on Sunday, but it is his longevity that fellow manager Ferguson junior is most impressed with.
“To me, 25 years in any job, let alone being the manager of Manchester United, is a fantastic achievement,” the younger Ferguson, who is in charge of Championship (second division) Peterborough United, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
“That’s got to be the main achievement he’s done—I know he’s won all the trophies but the length of time and the amount of teams he’s built is his biggest achievement no doubt.”
Ferguson’s son knows all about clubs being quick to change bosses in an era of impatience for success—having spent less than a year at the helm of Preston North End last year—and said there was “no chance” his dad expected to last this long.
Ferguson senior made a slow start at Old Trafford and was reportedly on the verge of being sacked in December 1989 after a poor run but the club kept the faith—where many would not these days—and their fortunes changed.
Ten years later he had celebrated a treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, and 22 years later he had taken United past arch rivals Liverpool’s record of English league titles with a 19th.
All his success means he can provide valuable advice to the son who was inspired to follow his choice of career —even if not all of it is welcome.
“There’s times when he’s like any father … there’s times when I’ll speak to him and disagree with him,” said Darren, who came through the United youth ranks before making 27 first team appearances in the early 1990s.
However, the 39-year-old has listened to what he says was his dad’s top tip.
“Just be honest with your players, regardless of whether it’s good stuff or bad stuff or you’re going to upset them,” he explained. “You’ll get their respect if you are honest with them.”
MORE TROPHIES
Ferguson might be like a lot of dads in some respects but his son also remembers other parts of his childhood that were different.
“He won’t mind me saying this—my mother brought us up, he wasn’t there a lot because he worked hard,” he said.
“I have to say there’s no way he would have the success he has without my mother—there is no doubt about that.”
With his 70th birthday looming next month, the Manchester United boss is showing no signs of winding down and his son believes he has several more years in the management tank thanks to the qualities that set him apart from others.
“His determination and desire to keep on churning out teams is the thing that’s made him different to anyone else,” he said. “He still gets up early, gets into work early, probably before most people.
“I think he’ll stay another three years at least. I just think the team he’s creating now … Teams go in cycles and it’ll be another three years maybe more.”
More years means more trophies for the cabinet.
“Definitely, yes,” Darren said. “The Champions League is a possibility, the league is a possibility. With Manchester United, anything is possible.” (Editing by Mark Meadows; To query or comment on this story email: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
 AYSA is pleased to present our 3rd Annual ‘Champions League 2012’ Indoor soccer season. It will take place this Winter, January 8th through February 19th. We think this is a great way to continue fostering our athlete’s ongoing development and motivation process as it is important players be granted the freedom to play.The program is open to 8-19 year old players and costs $75. The program will be 7 weeks long with games on Fridays and Sundays and includes a t-shirt for all participants. Specifically, this program benefits players with ambitions of developing their soccer skills. Indoor soccer will improve these skills rather than erode them during the late fall and winter months. The games will be played in a fun, fast paced and competitive environment and will challenge our players fitness, coordination, balance and agility at every step of the way. Make sure to get signed up early as space will be limited. The application will be available under the programs tab on Monday, October 31. |
Please note the goalie sneezing after he lets the goal in...i guess he needed to sneeze when he let the goal in
NCAA women's soccer - Oklahoma State Cowgirls a success story - ESPN
Growing up near Glasgow, Scotland, as a fan of Scottish soccer giant Rangers, Colin Carmichael went to plenty of the team's games with his dad. Just not to the Old Firm Derby against Glasgow's other giant, Celtic. In a rivalry that dates back to 1888 and splits a city and a nation along religious and cultural lines, Old Firm games have at times been marred by violence that would make a night in the bleachers at a Yankees-Red Sox game seem like a Disney ride.
[+] EnlargeAdrianna Finch
Oklahoma State CommunicationsOklahoma State goalkeeper Adrianna Finch anchors a defense that has allowed five goals in 19 games.
It wasn't until years later, on a visit home from the United States, that Carmichael bought a ticket and soaked in the atmosphere of a game that, for all of its flaws, is one of the sport's greatest spectacles of passion.
"It's an experience that, if you're a soccer fan and you get a chance to do it, you need to go once," Carmichael said. "Just like Real Madrid-Barcelona, Boca Juniors-River Plate, those types of matches, it's just an amazing experience."
It's also a good reminder that history takes time.
Oklahoma State's head coach, Carmichael these days lives out a role at the beginning of a story. In a state born of a land rush that took place the year after Celtic and Rangers first played, Oklahoma State is a program building tradition win by win.
When Carmichael was 6 years old, the Old Firm was already close to a century old. When Melinda Mercado was 6 years old in Sapulpa, Okla., neither of the major public universities in the state fielded a women's soccer team. Just 15 years later, Mercado is a senior defender for an Oklahoma State team that is ranked No. 2 in the nation and looking to continue an undefeated season all the way through the first College Cup appearance for the Cowgirls or any Big 12 team.
And while it's not the undying loyalty of generations, it's a sign of something building when strangers stop Mercado at Wal-Mart to tell her she played a good game and they can't wait to come to the next one.
"It's kind of nice to get appreciated," Mercado said. "Especially when our football team is doing so well this season, too, just for soccer to get recognition is nice."
Carmichael has been there from the beginning. After coming to the United States to play college soccer at South Alabama, he remained on this side of the Atlantic and helped launch that school's women's soccer program in 1994. Soon after, he was hired by new head coach Karen Hancock as Oklahoma State prepared to take the field for the first time in 1996. The pitch that first season was an intramural rugby field. The team got its own field the next season, but there were no bleachers, leaving the few fans who showed up to bring lawn chairs and plop down along the touch line.
Capital One Cup
The Capital One Cup rewards the best Division I men's and women's programs in the country for their on-field performance throughout the year. For more information about the Cup, visit capitalonecup.com.
• Capital One Cup standings | Fan page
Building from scratch in a place where the only football culture that existed revolved around people like Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas, the Cowgirls won just 11 conference games in their first six seasons. Slowly, thanks in part to well-timed imports like Canadian Nikki Wojtowicz, German Adriane Radtke and Swiss Kathrin Lehmann, the program found its footing (after serving as co-coaches in 2004 and 2005, Carmichael and Hancock traded original roles, and Hancock remains an assistant). OSU's first NCAA tournament bid and first Big 12 tournament championship came in 2003. The Cowgirls posted their first winning Big 12 record and won their first NCAA tournament game in 2006, matching the latter feat in each of the next three seasons.
After they beat Oregon State last season to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time and then defeated Duke to reach the program's first regional final, interest hit an all-time high. An overflow record crowd of 2,660 packed the stands in Stillwater for the quarterfinal against Notre Dame, and while a 2-0 loss to the eventual national champion sent the supporters home disappointed, the atmosphere of the night wasn't lost on Carmichael and Hancock, the same people who had to post flyers in the program's early days just to attract enough bodies to conduct practices.
"Going from that to playing against Notre Dame at home in front of a big crowd is just a tremendous feeling," Carmichael said. "It's something that we don't take for granted because of how far we've come and how low we were at the beginning. … But for me personally, I want to compete and try to win a national championship. That would mean a whole lot if we could do that here because of the history and some of the hours we had to put in to get this thing up."
Not entirely surprisingly for a program with an international coach, Oklahoma State still attracts talent from faraway places, like current German midfielder Annika Neimeier, as well as players from the soccer hotbed of Texas. But 17 players on the current roster, including more than half of a typical starting lineup, come from the state of Oklahoma.
"The Oklahoma girls take a tremendous pride in it because a lot of people wouldn't think of Oklahoma being good at soccer, especially with a lot of [in-state] girls on the team," Mercado said. "So I think we all take tremendous pride. It's really cool that you're able to stay in-state and still be a very successful program."
The Oklahomans, particularly Mercado and Carson Michalowski, are also the backbone of a defense that proves not every championship contender in Stillwater wins with offense alone. The Cowgirls were good defensively last season, allowing just 21 goals in 26 games, but they've been operating at a different level this season. Opponents have managed to score just five goals in 18 games this season, despite All-American goalkeeper Adrianna Franch (a Kansan, for the record) missing six games with an injury.
[+] EnlargeMelinda Mercado
Oklahoma State CommunicationsMelinda Mercado, a stalwart member of the Cowgirl back four, is one of 17 Oklahomans on the roster.
"It starts with [Franch], but having said that, we defend very hard as a team," Carmichael said. "It's something we take a lot of pride in. Our forwards work hard to close down, our [midfielders] track runners and we're blessed with some very good players in the back, like Melinda Mercado and Carson Michalowski at center back. Those two with [Franch] are really tough to break down."
Oklahoma State's rise to prominence in recent seasons comes at an interesting time in the Big 12. Last week's draw at Texas A&M marked the final scheduled game between the Aggies and Cowgirls (although a rematch in the Big 12 tournament final is entirely possible). For much of the conference's existence, Texas A&M and Nebraska were the most successful programs, combining for nine regular-season championships and a 38-17-2 record in the conference tournament (at 9-3-2, Oklahoma State is the only other school with an all-time winning record in the tournament).
Nebraska had fallen off the pace by the time it departed for the Big Ten, but Texas A&M remains a perennial national contender. The Aggies' expected move to the SEC leaves Oklahoma State to inherit the flagship label it was trying to claim anyway, but it also leaves a conference still widely regarded as a step behind the Pac-12 and a couple of steps behind the ACC with much to prove.
"It's a big loss for us -- for the conference in general, but for soccer it's huge," Carmichael said of Texas A&M. "They've been our flagship program. When all the other schools were building, A&M was already there. They were already in the top 10. Ourselves, Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech, we were all building up and trying to match them."
Getting to a College Cup, something not even the Aggies managed, would go a long way toward cementing credibility. With the stalwart defense, offensive weapons like senior striker Krista Lopez (8 goals, 5 assists) and junior midfielder Megan Marchesano (5 goals, 6 assists), and the prospect of potentially having home-field advantage for the first four rounds, there's no time like the present.
The atmosphere for the quarterfinal last year was a celebration of how far the program had come. A repeat opportunity this season will be about what comes next.
"I think that experience will help us a lot this year," Mercado said. "Now we won't be so amazed and surprised by the atmosphere and playing against a top-level team like that because now we consider ourselves one of those top-level teams."
Call it tradition taking root.
Growing up near Glasgow, Scotland, as a fan of Scottish soccer giant Rangers, Colin Carmichael went to plenty of the team's games with his dad. Just not to the Old Firm Derby against Glasgow's other giant, Celtic. In a rivalry that dates back to 1888 and splits a city and a nation along religious and cultural lines, Old Firm games have at times been marred by violence that would make a night in the bleachers at a Yankees-Red Sox game seem like a Disney ride.
[+] EnlargeAdrianna Finch
Oklahoma State CommunicationsOklahoma State goalkeeper Adrianna Finch anchors a defense that has allowed five goals in 19 games.
It wasn't until years later, on a visit home from the United States, that Carmichael bought a ticket and soaked in the atmosphere of a game that, for all of its flaws, is one of the sport's greatest spectacles of passion.
"It's an experience that, if you're a soccer fan and you get a chance to do it, you need to go once," Carmichael said. "Just like Real Madrid-Barcelona, Boca Juniors-River Plate, those types of matches, it's just an amazing experience."
It's also a good reminder that history takes time.
Oklahoma State's head coach, Carmichael these days lives out a role at the beginning of a story. In a state born of a land rush that took place the year after Celtic and Rangers first played, Oklahoma State is a program building tradition win by win.
When Carmichael was 6 years old, the Old Firm was already close to a century old. When Melinda Mercado was 6 years old in Sapulpa, Okla., neither of the major public universities in the state fielded a women's soccer team. Just 15 years later, Mercado is a senior defender for an Oklahoma State team that is ranked No. 2 in the nation and looking to continue an undefeated season all the way through the first College Cup appearance for the Cowgirls or any Big 12 team.
And while it's not the undying loyalty of generations, it's a sign of something building when strangers stop Mercado at Wal-Mart to tell her she played a good game and they can't wait to come to the next one.
"It's kind of nice to get appreciated," Mercado said. "Especially when our football team is doing so well this season, too, just for soccer to get recognition is nice."
Carmichael has been there from the beginning. After coming to the United States to play college soccer at South Alabama, he remained on this side of the Atlantic and helped launch that school's women's soccer program in 1994. Soon after, he was hired by new head coach Karen Hancock as Oklahoma State prepared to take the field for the first time in 1996. The pitch that first season was an intramural rugby field. The team got its own field the next season, but there were no bleachers, leaving the few fans who showed up to bring lawn chairs and plop down along the touch line.
Capital One Cup
The Capital One Cup rewards the best Division I men's and women's programs in the country for their on-field performance throughout the year. For more information about the Cup, visit capitalonecup.com.
• Capital One Cup standings | Fan page
Building from scratch in a place where the only football culture that existed revolved around people like Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas, the Cowgirls won just 11 conference games in their first six seasons. Slowly, thanks in part to well-timed imports like Canadian Nikki Wojtowicz, German Adriane Radtke and Swiss Kathrin Lehmann, the program found its footing (after serving as co-coaches in 2004 and 2005, Carmichael and Hancock traded original roles, and Hancock remains an assistant). OSU's first NCAA tournament bid and first Big 12 tournament championship came in 2003. The Cowgirls posted their first winning Big 12 record and won their first NCAA tournament game in 2006, matching the latter feat in each of the next three seasons.
After they beat Oregon State last season to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time and then defeated Duke to reach the program's first regional final, interest hit an all-time high. An overflow record crowd of 2,660 packed the stands in Stillwater for the quarterfinal against Notre Dame, and while a 2-0 loss to the eventual national champion sent the supporters home disappointed, the atmosphere of the night wasn't lost on Carmichael and Hancock, the same people who had to post flyers in the program's early days just to attract enough bodies to conduct practices.
"Going from that to playing against Notre Dame at home in front of a big crowd is just a tremendous feeling," Carmichael said. "It's something that we don't take for granted because of how far we've come and how low we were at the beginning. … But for me personally, I want to compete and try to win a national championship. That would mean a whole lot if we could do that here because of the history and some of the hours we had to put in to get this thing up."
Not entirely surprisingly for a program with an international coach, Oklahoma State still attracts talent from faraway places, like current German midfielder Annika Neimeier, as well as players from the soccer hotbed of Texas. But 17 players on the current roster, including more than half of a typical starting lineup, come from the state of Oklahoma.
"The Oklahoma girls take a tremendous pride in it because a lot of people wouldn't think of Oklahoma being good at soccer, especially with a lot of [in-state] girls on the team," Mercado said. "So I think we all take tremendous pride. It's really cool that you're able to stay in-state and still be a very successful program."
The Oklahomans, particularly Mercado and Carson Michalowski, are also the backbone of a defense that proves not every championship contender in Stillwater wins with offense alone. The Cowgirls were good defensively last season, allowing just 21 goals in 26 games, but they've been operating at a different level this season. Opponents have managed to score just five goals in 18 games this season, despite All-American goalkeeper Adrianna Franch (a Kansan, for the record) missing six games with an injury.
[+] EnlargeMelinda Mercado
Oklahoma State CommunicationsMelinda Mercado, a stalwart member of the Cowgirl back four, is one of 17 Oklahomans on the roster.
"It starts with [Franch], but having said that, we defend very hard as a team," Carmichael said. "It's something we take a lot of pride in. Our forwards work hard to close down, our [midfielders] track runners and we're blessed with some very good players in the back, like Melinda Mercado and Carson Michalowski at center back. Those two with [Franch] are really tough to break down."
Oklahoma State's rise to prominence in recent seasons comes at an interesting time in the Big 12. Last week's draw at Texas A&M marked the final scheduled game between the Aggies and Cowgirls (although a rematch in the Big 12 tournament final is entirely possible). For much of the conference's existence, Texas A&M and Nebraska were the most successful programs, combining for nine regular-season championships and a 38-17-2 record in the conference tournament (at 9-3-2, Oklahoma State is the only other school with an all-time winning record in the tournament).
Nebraska had fallen off the pace by the time it departed for the Big Ten, but Texas A&M remains a perennial national contender. The Aggies' expected move to the SEC leaves Oklahoma State to inherit the flagship label it was trying to claim anyway, but it also leaves a conference still widely regarded as a step behind the Pac-12 and a couple of steps behind the ACC with much to prove.
"It's a big loss for us -- for the conference in general, but for soccer it's huge," Carmichael said of Texas A&M. "They've been our flagship program. When all the other schools were building, A&M was already there. They were already in the top 10. Ourselves, Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech, we were all building up and trying to match them."
Getting to a College Cup, something not even the Aggies managed, would go a long way toward cementing credibility. With the stalwart defense, offensive weapons like senior striker Krista Lopez (8 goals, 5 assists) and junior midfielder Megan Marchesano (5 goals, 6 assists), and the prospect of potentially having home-field advantage for the first four rounds, there's no time like the present.
The atmosphere for the quarterfinal last year was a celebration of how far the program had come. A repeat opportunity this season will be about what comes next.
"I think that experience will help us a lot this year," Mercado said. "Now we won't be so amazed and surprised by the atmosphere and playing against a top-level team like that because now we consider ourselves one of those top-level teams."
Call it tradition taking root.
GSA Adidas Invitational 2011
December 3 - 4, 2011
Gwinnett Soccer Association
The adidas Invitational tournament registration will stay open until Friday, November 4th. We will, however, be closing divisions as they fill - so please do not wait until the very last second to register.Click here to register
The Boys College Showcase already has commitments from over 30 colleges and universities to attend the event. Please contact nuno.piteira@gsasoccer.com for more information.
Click here to register
Currently we have commitments/registrations from teams from AL, MS, TX, OH, TN, SC, NC, FL, KY, PA and of course the top clubs from GA. Concorde Fire, AFU, Cobb FC, Alpharetta Ambush, NASA, Roswell Santos, WGFC and Tophat to name a few.
Please don't miss the opportunity to compete with some of the top teams in the Region.
Remember too that the vast majority of these games will be played between Tucker, Lilburn and Snellville.
Don't miss the opportunity to register . . . apply now if you haven't already done so!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Chris.wagnon@gsasoccer.com or our tournament administrator, Nancy Marsden at nancy.marsden@gsasoccer.com or 404 219 3752.
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